It appears that cannabis may be useful to treat yet another condition – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
InMed Pharmaceuticals started a COPD program in 2015, hoping to target and identify potential compounds to successfully treat COPD. Using human lung fibroblasts through in vitro assays, InMed found that certain cannabinoids can lead to healing and fibrosis in the lung.
“Taking into consideration the impact of this specific protein’s role in lung tissue remodeling and fibrosis, these preliminary data are important and promising for developing cannabinoid-based therapies for COPD,” InMed’s chief scientific officer, Sazzad Hossain, said in a press release.
RELATED: What Can You do to Manage COPD?
Experts found that cannabinoids are anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and bronchodilatory. Therefore, cannabinoid-based therapies could be the safer and most effective treatment option for patients with COPD.